Sing it To The World
by abc500
Summary: Caroline is an 18 year old girl, with dreams of making it big in LA but no idea how to make it happen. When the opportunity to road trip there with her friends Stefan, Elena and a handsome stranger named Klaus arises, will she take it? AU/AH. Loosely based on the 2002 movie Crossroads.
1. Chapter 1

Caroline took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. The bright sun shone down on her, making her uncomfortable in her heavy gown. Graduation had ended and High school was officially over. It was done. Over. Complete. Caroline didn't know how to feel. On one hand she was happy that she had passed all of her exams with excellent grades, but on the other, she was scared. Scared of what her future was going to end up like. Scared that she wasn't going to be happy.

She felt a tug on her hand and noticed her mother trying to pull her along to the crowds of people. Caroline was pretty sure her mother was more excited about this day than she was. Liz was just _so_ proud of her brilliant daughter.

"Caroline" the old woman beamed. "Your speech was brilliant. I really enjoyed it"

"Thank you" Caroline smiled back, "I was really nervous"

"Well it didn't show, it was perfect"

Liz smiled down at her daughter in pride and held her hand out to the woman. "I'm Liz, Caroline's mother"

"Nice to meet you Liz" the woman smiled back, "I'm Andrea, her music teacher"

Liz's smile faltered slightly, but Andrea didn't seem to notice. "Valedictorian! You must be so proud of your daughter!"

"Of course" Liz smiled, giving Caroline's arm a nudge. "Caroline has worked extremely hard to get where she is, she deserves this"

Caroline zoned out of the conversation and let her eyes wander around her, tired of her mother already. She knew Liz would act like this, singing her praises to anyone who would listen. Caroline wouldn't mind, but her mother is a completely different person behind closed doors. She pays basically no attention to her daughter and spends all of her time working. Regardless of her absence at home, she still manages to be one of the strictest parents on earth. Never letting Caroline out and telling her it would be better if she stayed in and studied. There had been a few occasions where Caroline had managed to sneak out of the house and to go a party, but she still felt like she had misses out on a better high school experience.

Caroline's eyes finally landed on her best friend Elena, who was stood next to her own mother speaking to someone. The girls locked eyes, pulled faces and laughed. They had known each other since they were young children. They had grown up together. They were and would remain best friends forever.

"Caroline?" Liz said, nudging her arm once again. "Answer your teacher"

Caroline looked at the pair in silence and awkwardly smiled. Andrea laughed and shook her head. "I see even out of my lessons you still don't pay attention"

"Sorry" Caroline blushed. "What did you ask?"

"I was just wondering what your future plans were?" Andrea smiled. "Something with music I hope"

Caroline quickly looked up at her mother and then shook her head at Miss Morrison. "No, I'm going to law school"

Andrea raised her eyebrows in surprise "Law school?"

"Yes, Caroline has always wanted to study law" Liz intervened "She's going to be brilliant"

Caroline could feel the gaze from her teacher piercing her, but tried not to let it bother her. Instead she kept her eyes on the ground, hoping this conversation would end as soon as possible. Thankfully that is exactly what happened and the two bid farewell to her teacher and headed towards the principal.

An hour later, Caroline arrived home with her mother in toe. She slung her bag down on the side and went straight up to her room, hearing her mum sigh behind her. Closing her door, Caroline sighed as well. She noticed she had been doing a lot of it lately. Turning around, she walked over to her laptop and began playing her iTunes music, singing along happily and removing her graduation gown to change in to something more comfortable.

Whenever she heard music she felt free. She loved it. She loved singing, she loved dancing and she loved how music could make her feel. She could get utterly and completely lost in music.

"Caroline? What are you doing?"

Caroline gasped, leaped over to her laptop to stop her music and turned to her mother who was standing in her doorway.

"I was just singing" she said, sitting on her bed. Liz noticed the expression on her daughters face and slowly sat beside her.

"I know you love singing" Liz spoke softly. "But you won't make it. It's a very hard business to crack"

"I know bu-"

"No. I don't think you know" Liz raised her voice slightly. "It's stupid thinking you can make a career out of music Caroline. You're better off going to law school like we planned and becoming a lawyer"

"**We** didn't plan anything" Caroline said, "You did. This is not what I want mother. I don't want to go in to law. I _want_ to be a singer"

"That is out of the question" Liz said, standing up and walking for the door. "You're going to law school and that is final. Now stop talking nonsense before I change my mind about the graduation party tonight"

Caroline stared at her mother wide eyed, but eventually nodded. Liz smiled and walked out of the door, closing it as she left. Caroline felt her eyes fill up with tears and fell back on to her bed, finally letting them out. Why couldn't her mother understand and be supportive? It was hopeless fighting with her, she wasn't going to win. She would be going to law school after the summer. There was no other way out of it.

Arriving at the Lockwood mansion where the graduation party was being held, Caroline smiled. She was thankful that her mother had let her come. She had no exams to study for, but she was sure her mother would just be a bitch and decide she couldn't go. Caroline entered the house in search of anyone she knew. That's the thing with these parties, anyone could show up. Caroline was wearing her favourite black dress that showed off her long, tanned legs and had her hair in beautiful lose curls. She wanted to make up for all the parties she had missed.

"What's up Forbes?" came a voice from behind her. She turned and saw Tyler Lockwood himself. "You're looking good"

"Thanks Tyler" she smiled "You too"

"Want a drink?"

She nodded and followed him in to the kitchen, weaving in between the masses of people on the way.

"So valedictorian eh?" He smiled, while pouring her a drink. "I knew you would get it. You were always the smartest in class"

"Thanks" she smiled taking a sip of the alcohol he gave her, then grimacing at the taste. "I'm just thankful today is over"

"You and me both" Tyler laughed. "Oh, Elena is there" he said pointing behind her. "She was looking for you earlier"

Caroline glanced behind her and saw Elena conversing with her other friend Bonnie. "Thanks for the drink Ty, I'll see you later"

Receiving a nod from Tyler, she made her way over to Elena and Bonnie, taking another sip of her drink as she walked.

"Caroline!" Elena beamed. "Your speech was great!"

"Yeah Care, well done" Bonnie added, smiling. "You did amazing"

Caroline thanked them both, secretly hoping she would get no more comments like that tonight. She just wanted to have fun and get drunk, not get reminded of her day every second.

"I have something to tell you both" Elena smiled, before taking them both by the hand and leading them to the closest bathroom. Caroline and Bonnie shared looks of surprise, but followed their best friend anyway. Ushering them both in the room and locking the door, Elena then turned to them both and smiled.

"I'm going to find my mother"

Caroline and Bonnie stared at Elena. _What? _Caroline's eyebrows crinkled in confusion and she looked at Bonnie who wore the same expression.

"Elena. Your mother is at your house" Caroline said slowly, making Bonnie smile and Elena sigh in frustration.

"No" Elena said. "I mean my _real _mother. My birth mother"

Caroline's mouth formed an 'O' shape and her eyebrows rose high. Wow. This was unexpected.

"Elena, are you sure?" Bonnie said, looking worried. "You don't know her"

"I'm definitely sure" Elena smiled. "I spoke to my parents and they're fine with it. They found out her name and address for me. Guys, she lives in _California_"

"And how are you going to get there?" Caroline asked, worried but not wanting to hurt her friend.

"I found a lift with this guy-"

"No!" Caroline said, shocked. "You can't just go travel to California with _some guy_, he could be a murderer!"

Bonnie nodded in agreement. "Or a rapist"

"Guys it's totally fine" Elena said softly. "Stefan is coming with me. He needs to go there anyway to visit his brother"

"And does Stefan know this guy?" Caroline asked, worry still evident in her voice.

"Yeah, they've known each other for a while"

The three girls stood in silence for a few minutes, and Caroline took a big gulp of her drink. She really hoped Elena was making a good decision.

"You both should come with me" Elena suddenly said. "I've wanted to ask you both all day"

Caroline choked on her drink, and Bonnie sighed gently. "I definitely can't come" she said. "I have a summer placement at the university"

Elena sighed as well with a mere "oh". They both then turned their attention to Caroline. "I don't think so-"

"Oh, come on Caroline!" Elena pleaded. "We all know you want to go to LA. You're the best singer I know. _Please_"

"My mum would never let me" Caroline sighed, thinking about it. "She hates the thought of me singing"

"Well, if you change your mind were leaving tomorrow morning at eight am" Elena smiled. "Think about it"

Caroline stared after Elena as her and Bonnie left the bathroom to re-join the party. Was this possible? Did she dare betray her mother, and pursue California? It was a big decision, one she wasn't sure if she could make.

**A/N: This is my second Klaroline story. It is loosely based on the 2002 movie Crossroads, some aspects will be similar but other things are going to go in a very different direction. Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2: Waffle house

Caroline's eyes snapped open at the sound of her alarm. She quickly jolted up and silenced it, hoping that the sudden noise hadn't awoken her mother. It was seven in the morning. Caroline smiled in anticipation, forgetting the fact she had barely managed to get any sleep. Rushing up, she began to pack anything she thought was necessary. If she even stopped for a second, she knew she would back out and not dare to disobey her mother like this.

Finally zipping her bags closed, she took a quick look around her room. She couldn't help but think about when she would next be there, or if she even would be. Caroline had never done anything like this before, she felt extremely nervous. But she also felt like she was finally taking control of her life and doing what _she_ wanted to do. Not what anyone else told her to do. She just hoped this trip wouldn't be a disaster. She didn't even know the guy who was driving them there, she shuddered at the thought.

Attempting to be as quiet as possible, Caroline crept out of her room and down the hall towards her mother's room. She had written a small letter explaining what she had done and why she had done it. She felt like it was the least she could do, and hoped her mother wouldn't be _too_ upset when she read it. She slowly opened her mother's door and walked as carefully as possible towards her. She looked at the clock and noticed she didn't have much time left to get to Elena's house and so quietly put the little letter on the pillow, gave a soft kiss to her mother's cheek and left.

"You came!" Elena beamed, running up to Caroline. "I can't believe you're here"

Caroline giggled, dropped her bags and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "I didn't want to pass up this opportunity. I thought, why the hell not?"

Elena laughed and nodded, grabbing one of Caroline's bags for her.

"I knew you'd be the one to bring basically their entire wardrobe" she said, shaking her head. "But it's okay, they will fit in the car"

Caroline nodded and smiled slightly, following Elena towards the light yellow convertible car that was parked outside her house. The nerves were really kicking in now. As she approached she noticed a guy stood by the trunk of the car, putting a few bags in. _This must be the mysterious guy_ she thought.

"Caroline, this is Klaus" Elena smiled. "He's driving us"

Caroline was pretty sure she looked like a complete idiot. Stood there staring at him with her mouth open. He was _hot_. He was more than hot, he was _amazingly _hot. She snapped out of her stare and laughed in embarrassment. He just smirked at her.

"Nice to meet you Caroline" He said. "What's taking you to La?"

_He's English._

"I want to be a singer" she said shyly. Normally when she told people her dream of making it big, they either changed the subject or laughed at her. Klaus however, did neither.

"Nice" he smiled. "I wish you the best of luck"

"Thank you"

"Oh. Are these your bags?" Klaus said, looking down. "Here let me help you"

Klaus picked up her bags with no effort and put them in the trunk of the car. The next thing she knew, someone was grabbing her from behind. Squealing in surprise, she turned and saw the face of Stefan Salvatore.

"Stefan!" she laughed, bringing him in to a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm great thanks care" he laughed, returning the hug. "I'm surprised you're here. It's not like you"

"I know" Caroline said, releasing him. "I can't believe it either"

Stefan laughed and led her over to the side of the car. "It's going to be great. Don't worry"

Caroline nodded and noticed that Elena was already in the back seat of the car, and after hearing Stefan yell "shotgun!", she climbed in and sat beside her.

As Klaus started the car and began to drive away from Elena's house, she took a deep breath and nervously played with her hands. There was no going back now, this was it.

Driving out of mystic falls was something she was never going to forget. Caroline had never really been anywhere. She had lived in this small town her entire life. She couldn't believe she was actually travelling to La to try and make her dream come true.

Caroline held her breath as they passed her house. Her mother would probably be waking up for work around now. Caroline wasn't sure if she would notice the letter or not. If she hadn't, Liz would probably get ready and go to work without realising Caroline had even gone. If that was the case, Caroline expected she would receive a call later on that night. When she was far away from mystic falls, and closer to her destination.

They had been on the road for a few hours. The radio was playing soft music and Caroline was sat writing in her lyric book, while the rest conversed in light chatter. The breeze felt amazing on Caroline's face and she made sure to keep observing the view as they travelled. This was a whole new experience for her, and so far, she was completely content.

This bliss was ruined ten minutes later however, when smoke suddenly began to rise from the bonnet of the car. Hearing the groans from the other occupants in the car, Caroline looked up and stared in shock. _Great_. This was definitely not a good sign.

Klaus pulled over to the side of the road, quickly got out of the car (while spitting out some curse words) and went to inspect the damage. Stefan soon followed.

"There's no point in us trying to help" Elena said, getting out of the car as well. "We don't know anything about cars. I'm going to stretch my legs"

Caroline nodded in agreement and followed Elena, feeling good as she was able to give her legs and back a quick stretch. Car journeys were definitely not comfortable for long hours.

"I can't figure out what's wrong" Klaus muttered after several minutes. "Shit"

Stefan shook his head in agreement and looked at the girls in worry. "What should we do?"

"Well, we need to find a garage or someone to take a look" Elena said, crossing her arms and sighing. "Do you know if there are any around here?"

Klaus shook his head and sighed as well, looking highly annoyed.

"I noticed a diner about five minutes back" Caroline said. "We could walk back and ask someone there?"

"Good idea" Stefan said, nodding. "I'm starving"

"I can't believe you only brought fifty dollars" Klaus said, while taking a bite from his food. They were at a waffle house. A road trip necessity right?

"I could only bring what I had" Caroline said softly, feeling guilty. "I couldn't exactly ask my mother for money"

"It's okay Care" Elena said, trying her best to smile. "We'll figure something out. How much in total do we have?"

Stefan finished counting the money on the table and sighed. "About four hundred dollars"

"So not enough then" Klaus said, throwing his fork down on the table. "Great"

"It's your crappy car that broke down" Elena snapped, "That wasn't our fault"

"Don't try and blame me Gilbert"

"Have any of you thought of a plan?" Caroline said, breaking up the would-be argument. "You know, like how many miles were going to travel in a day, what towns we can stop in, how much gas money we need?"

The silence that followed her question gave her the answer. Sighing, she took out her phone and went on to the calculator to try and work out some kind of budget.

"We really cannot afford this trip with that amount of money" she sighed.

"Look" Stefan said, looking around at everyone. "All we have to do is figure out how to get enough money to fix the car and support us for the rest of the journey"

The four of them sat in silence for another few minutes, all trying to think of something to get them out of this mess. All Caroline could think of was how this trip was turning out to be a _big_ mistake.

"I'm going to go and wash my hands" she sighed, getting up from the table and walking towards the sign that said 'Girls'. She needed time away from them to think about what she was going to do.

"I wouldn't even try it Klaus" Elena said, after seeing his eyes follow Caroline as she walked away. "She's way out of your league"

"I don't know what you're talking about" he smirked, before taking a sip of his drink.

By the time Caroline had returned to the table, she knew what she was going to do. She was going home. This trip had been wasted effort, and it hadn't even been a day. Caroline knew it was too good to be true.

"I'm going to call my mum" she sighed as she reached the table. "I'm going to get her to pick me up"

"Caroline, no!" Elena gasped, standing up. "Please don't go, we can figure something out!"

"There's nothing to figure out! This trip has failed already"

"Please just trust me, okay? Everything will be fine. We're going to think of a way to get some money and continue on this trip! Please don't give up yet Care, please?"

Caroline sighed and looked at Elena's doe eyes, mentally slapping her around the face for getting her in to this situation. She had two options. The first was to call her mother, explain what had happened, get shouted at for god knows how long and then get picked up, taken home and probably grounded. Or, she could continue on this trip and hope for the best.

"Okay" Caroline sighed. "I'll stay"

Elena let out a squeal of happiness.

"But _only_ if we manage to get some money"

Stefan nodded his head and smiled. "Let's just find our way to a cheap motel and in the morning we can call a tow truck and work out a plan of action"

The rest of them nodded their heads in agreement, leaving the conversation at that.


End file.
